Missouri Governor Jay Nixon yesterday ordered the US National Guard to a St Louis suburb convulsed by protests over the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black teen, after a night in which officers used tear gas to clear protesters off the streets well ahead of a curfew.
Nixon said the National Guard would assist “in restoring peace and order” to Ferguson, where protests over the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer entered their second week.
Police said they acted in response to gunfire, looting, vandalism and Molotov cocktails.
Photo: Reuters
“These violent acts are a disservice to the family of Michael Brown and his memory, and to the people of this community who yearn for justice to be served and to feel safe in their own homes,” Nixon said.
The latest confrontations came on the same day that US Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy on Brown, and as a preliminary private autopsy reported by the New York Times found that Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head.
As night fell in Ferguson on Sunday, another peaceful protest quickly deteriorated into violence.
Photo: AFP
“Based on the conditions, I had no alternative but to elevate the level of response,” said Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson, who is in command in Ferguson.
At least two people were wounded in shootings, he said.
The “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding Brown’s death and a request by his family prompted the US Department of Justice to order a third autopsy, spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement, adding that the examination would take place as soon as possible.
Former New York City chief medical examiner Michael Baden told the Times that one of the bullets entered the top of Brown’s skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when he suffered a fatal injury, adding that Brwon was shot four times in the right arm and all the bullets were fired into his front.
Police have said little about the Aug. 9 encounter between Brown and the officer, except to say that it involved a scuffle in which the officer was injured and Brown was shot. Witnesses say the teenager had his hands in the air as the officer fired multiple rounds.
Sunday’s clashes in Ferguson erupted three hours before the curfew imposed by Nixon. Officers in riot gear ordered all the protesters to disperse and many did, but about 100 stood about two blocks away until getting hit by tear gas.
Protesters laid a line of cinder blocks across the street in an apparent attempt to block police vehicles, which easily plowed through as the crackle of gunfire was heard from several blocks away.
Earlier in the day at a ceremony for Brown, Johnson said he had met the teen’s relatives and the experience “brought tears to my eyes and shame to my heart.”
“When this is over, I’m going to go in my son’s room. My black son, who wears his pants sagging, who wears his hat cocked to the side, got tattoos on his arms, but that’s my baby,” he said. “We all need to thank the Browns for Michael. Because Michael’s going to make it better for our sons to be better black men.”
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